Russell Annetts has been in the print all his life, originally in north and east London and for the last decade or so, in Essex. He had worked for some of best known names in the industry at the time, including Tony Diamond at Keldia Press in Walthamstow. Now he owns M&B Printers in Great Dunmow on the edge of Chelmsford, an altogether much quieter affair.
It is also a much smaller operation: Annetts runs the factory with John Smith. Together they will operate a Windmill platen two-colour GTO, Ricoh digital press, soon to be joined by a Xerox Versant, two Mimaki large format inkjets, and enough finishing equipment to ensure that the business can handle anything thrown at it.
That can range from banners and business cards to short run wire bound product manuals, brochures, posters, T-shirts and polo shirts. But no mugs. Annetts draws the line at mugs. “We haven’t moved into merchandising,” he says. “Otherwise there is not much that we cannot do in-house.”
And when M&B can’t do it, there is always Bluetree. “I reckon that we were one of their first trade customers,” he says, looking back ten years. Today Annetts is using the trade printer for the likes of A4 folders and other products that cannot be supplied inhouse. But really he would prefer to print himself, and that increasingly means digital printing. The company until recently had two two-colour litho presses, the GTO and a Speedmaster. As demand shrank, one had to go and that became the Speedmaster for two reasons. First it was more saleable and has headed to South Africa and second should anything go wrong with either press, the GTO is an easier proposition to fix. It is well looked after, just like every piece of equipment that has been fitted Tetris-like into the unit M&B moved to in 2011.
Unfortunately that reliability does not apply to digital technology. And as the business depends on being able to print on very tight turnarounds, a second digital press is needed to provide cover as well as that additional capacity that is needed.
Both the Ricoh and the Xerox Versant 280 are supplied through ASL. The Japanese press can print to 400gsm and prints a long sheet. The capabilities of the Xerox have yet to be tested. It will go in the space currently occupied by a Plockmatic booklet maker. This will move to the opposite wall where an earlier Plockmatic is waiting to move on.
The space left vacant when the litho press moved has been filled by a finishing table for banners with Easymount laminator. Standard materials can be cut down on this table. If mounting to a rigid board, a Makita power saw will be used. It is an unusual but practical solution when there is no space for a flatbed cutting table, even if the budget existed.
The twin Mimaki printers are upstairs on a mezzanine level. The first was bought new five years go and is a CJV150. The second is a JCV33, an older machine that is more dependable and fixable, thanks to using parts that can be replaced, than the designed-for-obsolescence newer printer. M&B expanded to be able to offer large format as part of a strategy to be able to always say yes to customers, Annetts being conscious that if a company can’t fulfil every need, the customer is likely to seek out a supplier that can – and print is no exception. “I like to have control as much as possible,” he says. “It is what has kept us going.”
The customer base is resolutely local and they receive a hands on service to guide designs through the process, demonstrating what is possible and by always providing a hard copy proof rather than simply a PDF that the customer needs to approve on a screen. It is appreciated, one customer tweaking the ‘final’ design a couple more times once she had seen the physical version of her work on screen. “It’s about providing the right service. It’s much better for customers to be checking the printed sheet rather than trying to check on screen,” he says.
A local school typifies this. It needed print for a summer gala event, but typically left this late in the day. The job was needed that day. Annetts on receipt of the file, took the proof copy across to the school a few miles away, received the approvals and the remainder of the job was turned around before guests started to arrive. “They love it. They have seen and felt the job before it goes on press and we can charge a bit of a premium for that,” he says.
That customer will return and will not be arguing over a the final price of the job. It is also where the combination of print on paper, large format and short run printing can come to the fore, each service feeding off each other – customers can be upsold the additional services. Business cards provide a perfect example. The plain business card is fine, but the matt laminated version will look so much better. The margin is better for the printer and all it takes is a sheet of print and sheet of film for 20 cards. It is about selling the experience and value of print which can be eroded by trying to match the price for online sales.
This is born out by Google reviews which are almost all 5/5. This review is typical: “A million times better than online services that don’t proof and check your work. These guys have never failed me. Friendly, professional, and make sure the end result is what you really want. Can’t ask for anything more!” Annetts says: “It’s important that we guard our reputation in the area. Having a nice Google review keeps us in the spotlight.”
The Plockmatic can serve a similar purpose as it will produce a squared back finish that can look better than staples and this is the sort of difference that is appreciated by the customer.
“We’ll also try to persuade the customer that wants 2,000 copies of a brochure to take 500, then come back when those are used up, perhaps with some updates. It helps keep the job for us and avoids tying up the press too much,” he explains. For a start up business, this also avoids tying up cash in print and for M&B reduces the risk of an expensive bad debt.
There is no pressure to expand rapidly, but there is an eye on growth opportunities. Annetts tried to bring in a youngster at the end of last year, but it rapidly became clear that it would not work out. Then as a company in Harlow went down, M&B forged a link with the designer who was trying to go it alone. One job resulted and there has been silence since. In another instance, the business tried to link up with a broker. “But he only wanted to give us the low value and troublesome jobs, keeping the better jobs and the margin from them for himself.” That relationship too did not last.
The door is always open for some arrangement, but it will have to be a solid one. “We’re making a living from print,” says Annetts. “We’re happy doing what we do and it works as long as we work at it.”
If there is a gripe it is directed at paper merchants. “We used to see a rep once a month. Now nobody ever calls. We used to be loyal to a single merchant, but their price to us went up and they would not negotiate. Now we pick and choose where the price is lowest,” he says.
It seems a long way from the heady days of the 1990s when everyone with a five- or six-colour B1 Speedmaster in and around Hackney was thriving. “I bumped into one of the guys from those days. He had a six-colour and was part of that. He’s driving a taxi now.”
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